This invention relates to electrically shunting contacts in an unmated electrical connector, and in particular to a shunt assembly for use with an electrical connector or an electrical connector incorporating the shunt assembly wherein, upon unmating the connector from a mating connector, the shunt is biased to engage contacts of the unmated connector to electrically common predetermined ones of the contacts.
When a connector having a cable extending to a computer system is disconnected from a peripheral device, predetermined ones of the conductors of the disconnected cable must be electrically commoned within a limited time of being disconnected so as to cause the computer system not to power down. This has traditionally been achieved by providing a complementary connector, mounted on a printed circuit board, for mating with the disconnected connector upon being disconnected from the peripheral device. Traces on the circuit board electrically common the appropriate contacts of the printed circuit board connector and thus the corresponding cable conductors. As computers become faster and faster, the available time to achieve electrical commoning of the conductors of the disconnected cable has been significantly decreased.
It would be desirable to have a shunt assembly to automatically provide the electrical commoning of the appropriate conductors of a cable upon unmating of a connector from a peripheral device.